Bhitarkanika National Park, National park in Kendrapara district, Odisha, India.
Bhitarkanika is a protected area in eastern India where rivers from the interior meet the sea, forming an extensive network of mangrove forests and waterways. Vegetation becomes partly submerged during high tide, so tree roots and muddy banks shape most of the scenery.
The rulers of Kanika hunted here until the early 1970s, before the government placed the area under protection. Official conversion into a national park followed in 1975 to safeguard threatened wildlife and the mangrove forests.
Fishermen from surrounding villages navigate the waterways in small boats using handed-down knowledge of tides and currents. Honey collectors enter the forest during certain moon phases when bees are less active and gathering becomes safer.
Boat tours with experienced guides usually depart from villages at the edge of the area and last several hours on narrow channels. The best visiting period runs from October to March, when heat eases and migratory birds arrive.
Several thousand saltwater crocodiles live in the rivers and channels of the protected area and often bask on muddy banks. Visitors see the reptiles during boat trips from a safe distance while they lie motionless in shallow water.
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